


The Akko split

by MemoryMonkey



Series: Diana ♥ Akko [21]
Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: But it's good vibes overall, Established Relationship, F/F, Feels, Fluff, Gay, Girls Kissing, High level of gay, Hugs, a touch of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26741311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MemoryMonkey/pseuds/MemoryMonkey
Summary: The nine girls of Diana's dorm, Akko's dorm and Amanda's dorm are all staying around Cavendish manor for a night over the holiday, unsupervised. Diana took a lot of convincing from Akko, but Akko was set on the idea and knew how to convince her girlfriend.As it turns out, it's not easy for Diana to keep things under control when Akko decides to cast a complex spell and there is suddenly a large number of Akkos roaming the manor. Flustered by an excess of her girlfriends, Diana has to find and deal with several chaotic copies of the girl she loves as they run amok, stirring up trouble between her friends.Gay ensues.
Relationships: Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari, Hannah England/Amanda O'Neill
Series: Diana ♥ Akko [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1563343
Comments: 97
Kudos: 323





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> \- Thanks to [HollowClock](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HollowClock/pseuds/HollowClock) for the idea
> 
> Regrettably this is my 70th work, so now the month-long 69 work streak comes to an end.
> 
> Also notably, this is the first work in this series tagged with Hamanda, but it's mostly on Diana and Akko. It's also going to be a bit longer than the other works in the series.

With each school holiday came a number of opportunities. Opportunities to visit family, opportunities to go on a vacation, or even ample time to study if you so chose. Most importantly, of course, was the opportunity to do sleepovers around each other's houses. Especially when your girlfriend has a giant mansion.

While Diana was initially reluctant, she had been in a relationship with Akko for a long time now, and the Japanese witch knew how to change her mind. That was why the two of them, along with Diana's dormmates, Akko's dormmates and the three girls from the green dorm were stood at the base of the long paved pathway leading up to Cavendish manor, the cabs that Diana had hired to transport them now far behind them. The early afternoon sun shone down at a comfortable temperature, the comforting lull of a light breeze waving through the trees and the insects in the fields of well-maintained grass setting a pleasant atmosphere as Akko proudly walked beside Diana towards the towering building ahead of them.

Clear blue skies above and sparkling water around them set an idyllic scene with the mighty beige brickwork of the manor, its many peaks and windows blending cleanly with the landscape. The air of wealth and freedom that hung around them was empowering and exciting.

Daryl was on a business trip at this time, and had taken her daughters with her, not to return for another two days. Diana had made it clear that there was no chance of having all 8 of her friends staying for a night in her manor if Daryl were present, but as the holidays were only just beginning, it was perfect timing.

"Thank you for this, Diana," Akko grinned widely as they walked closely side by side, having crossed the bridge and gatehouse and now approaching the main entrance to the manor. "It's gonna be awesome!"

"It's certainly not going to be dull," Diana answered, casting a wary glance at the rabble behind them. Hannah and Barbara, who were well accustomed to the manor, were very calm and presentable as they walked behind the pair.

Diana was more worried about those who were behind her dormmates - Lotte had a look of abject wonder on her face as she took in the intricate carvings and ornaments that only grew more spectacular as the group passed underneath them. Sucy and Constanze, as ever, appeared not to care or at least weren't easy to read. Jasminka looked flatly impressed, but Amanda had the most irking smile on her mouth. Her eyes flashed up to meet Diana's, and she quickly flashed a wink. Diana sighed, facing forwards again before pausing at the main door.

"Welcome, everyone," she began, while pushing the tall door slowly open, its heavy groaning promising a dramatic main hall behind it. "Rest assured I've asked the servants to leave us be during the duration of our visit, but please do try not to break anything."

"Geez, formalities," Amanda muttered. "Do you guys have like a cinema or something?" She asked, walking past Diana into the tall hall, her hands behind her head.

"Amanda," Jasminka scolded. "Cope with it for a few minutes."

"Yeah yeah," the redhead shrugged, looking around.

Circular patterns decorated the ceiling, a large golden lantern hanging from their centre - a wide, red-carpeted staircase arose from the centre of the room, splitting off at the opposite wall and continuing upwards either side, onto balconies on the sides of the room with equally elaborate pillars holding them high above the ground.

Diana felt a slight burning excitement in her gut. She hadn't often invited friends to the manor just to enjoy themselves during their break, and there was something oddly satisfying in introducing them all to her home. Muffled birdsong could be heard breaking out outside, accompanying the tapping of their footsteps on the marble floor as Diana began their brief tour of the central area.

"Where are the onsens at?" Amanda asked, pausing next to a tall pair of doors and moving to slip the door open and peek through it.

"Those are the kitchens," Diana answered flatly. "The onsen is on the other side of the building."

"How come there's an onsen but not a pool?" Amanda asked under her breath. "Bet you two bang in there," she added more loudly.

"With the amount you're talking, it seems as though you're planning on being our tour guide yourself," Hannah snapped, turning around to stare daggers at Amanda, who faltered before shrugging, electing not to say anything else.

"Hey, so I'm assuming you've got a library in here somewhere?" Lotte asked, jogging briefly to move closer to Diana, who cleared her throat.

"Of course," the blonde answered. "It was actually the first door on the left down this corridor, though it has other entrances on higher floors."

"H-huh," Lotte mouthed, mystified.

"As you do," Sucy mumbled.

"It doesn't have any Nightfall books," Barbara spoke quietly to the ginger who was now by her side. "I checked."

"We'll probably be spending most of the time in the dorms and living areas," Diana resumed her tour, turning left and bringing the group up a long staircase. "We have a number of guest rooms - enough for you all to each have one, provided that Akko and I share."

"You don't need to give yourself an excuse," Amanda snorted. "We're not gonna believe it anyway."

"Oh shut it, O'Neill," Diana sighed.

"Don't be jealous now," Akko quipped as the group came to a stop at the top of the staircase, some more out of breath than others. A long corridor with a bannister on its edge ran alongside the staircase, which the top opened onto - along which, a number of widely spaced doors presumably constituted guest rooms.

"You can choose rooms and leave your things there," Diana began. "Then we can decide what we want to do."

"You are kinda making it sound like a business trip," Akko commented as she and her girlfriend took the familiar route to the blonde's own room.

"Alright, you can host our next meeting then," Diana grumbled, pushing the door open.

"Meeting," Akko chuckled as the two placed down their luggage, but paused when Diana shot her a look. "Yeah, okay okay, sorry. I appreciate this. I do," she said, raising her hands in a disarming gesture.

"I can tell," Diana answered easily, leaving a quick kiss on Akko cheek as she passed the brunette on the way to the door. "Now let's assemble the rabble before they break something."

"Okay," Amanda spoke loudly from a room just further down from their dorms as Akko and Diana stepped out of their room, pausing briefly to meet eyes. "Mansion with all kind of rooms, check. Living area, check. A load of sofas, check. TV screen? Movies? Hello?" She complained loudly.

"Should have seen this coming," Diana stated, marching down the corridor towards the lounge Amanda had found, in which the rest of the group were gathering.

"Yo Cons, got us covered?" The redhead asked.

As Diana and Akko were the last two to enter into the comfortable, sizable room with bookshelves lining the walls and a large open wall space to their right, they noticed Constanze nod and pull something from the bag she kept on her shoulders.

"Jasna," Amanda prompted, and the pink-haired girl quickly understood, the two moving to budge the sofas across the room.

"H-hey!" Barbara complained. "You can't just start moving around other peoples' furniture!"

"I mean, today's events would suggest otherwise," the redhead quipped as she continued until they formed a viewing ark facing the opening on the wall, in front of which Constanze now stood.

"When did you guys choreograph this?" Akko asked quietly as the tiny girl attached a device onto the wall which quickly expanded into a large black rectangle.

"Tadaa, proper movie setup," Amanda explained, dropping onto the central sofa and taking up most of it.

"Shall I brew our tea?" Hannah offered, turning to Diana before quickly turning around again - behind her, Amanda had burst out laughing.

"Yeah, getting all cosy with your girl for some Netflix and tea," the American shouted between breaths.

"Oh my God," Hannah whispered, closing her eyes. "I'm not going to last an hour."

"We've got this," Barbara whispered beside her. "Don't give up yet."

"Seriously though, don't worry about that," Amanda continued. "You got us covered, right Jasna?" She asked, turning to the girl in question who nodded brightly, kneeling down and setting her bag on the table in front of it, pulling out all manners of popcorn and sugary foods and drinks.

"Ayyy, movie night queens!" Akko cheered, giving in to her temptation and dive-bombing onto the sofa beside Amanda. Lotte watched awkwardly, unsure whether to say anything or not.

"You know it-" Amanda began, but was cut off.

"But this sofa is for me and Diana," Akko said in a serious tone.

"Huh? Lady, I set this place up!" Amanda complained as Diana felt a smile crawling up her lips at their antics. Falling in love with Akko had taught her an appreciation for such childish behaviour.

"She's serious," Diana asserted, stepping forwards. "Host's rules."

"Just wait until I host the next one," Amanda huffed, standing up. "You and Akko get to sit on a log outside and watch through the window."

"They'd probably need the privacy," Sucy monotoned.

"Cram it," Akko shot, leaning back against the old-fashioned padded sofa and smiling when Diana slid into place next to her.

"I take it you brought films, too?" Diana asked, turning her gaze towards Constanze. By this point, Hannah and Barbara had shrugged and sat down together, with Lotte and Sucy on the sofa beside them. On Akko's other side, Amanda and her dormmate were all squeezed together as though that was the formation they were used to.

In response, the German witch pointed her wand at the screen, which promptly lit up with a search bar.

"Internet," Akko explained to the girl beside her.

"Ah. Well I haven't watched a lot apart from costume dramas and a number of old cartoons I've watched with Akko, so I'm not sure what to suggest."

"Something tells me we wouldn't all enjoy Breaking Bad," Amanda mused. "Hey, how about the Yogi Bear-"

"We're not watching the Yogi Bear animated movie again," Jasminka deadpanned.

"Should Constanze decide?" Lotte suggested.

"Sure, but she's got a lot of work and might disappear halfway through to find a quiet place to set up shop," the redhead answered. Diana raised an eyebrow.

"Well since that option's on the board," Sucy spoke, standing up. "I saw your lab on the way here and I'd rather be there than watching a movie."

"Yikes," Amanda muttered.

"Hey, you can't just start using all of our supplies," Diana complained, moving to stand up too but Sucy shook her head.

"Not too many of them," she explained before leaving.

"How about Ice Age?" Amanda mused, ignoring the conversation behind her.

"Ice Age?" Diana asked

.

"Animated film about..." Akko trailed off. "Isn't that the one with the baby?"

"I hate the baby," Amanda muttered. "I looked him up on wiki, apparently his name's Roshan and he's fucking seven feet tall. This guy will fold you."

"Certainly sounds interesting," Diana frowned.

They ended up watching Ice Age and, as Amanda had said, it wasn't long before Constanze stuck quietly away. Only after the end of the film was it clear how eager Lotte was to go to look through Diana's library, so she quickly excused herself afterwards.

"People are separating from the group quite a lot," Barbara commented, turning her head but not moving from her comfortable position. "Are you sure they're not going to get lost?"

"Their fault if they do," Hannah answered quietly.

"That being said, I'd love to look around more of the house now," Jasminka spoke up, and all eyes turned to her. "Before it gets dark."

"I'm with Jasna here," Amanda nodded, jumping cleanly up from her spot on the sofa. "I mean we saw a whole back area when we were approaching from the front."

"I'm more than happy to give you a proper tour next morning, if you'd like," Diana suggested. "If we get up early, the morning sun will-"

"Get up early?" Amanda complained. "We're not gonna be asleep until the morning sun is up, let alone awake again." Diana paused.

"I suppose would could fetch the others and go now then-"

"Nah, nah, no need to disturb you and Akko being gross," Amanda cut her off again, gesturing to the pair who were leaning against one another, holding hands between them.

"Huh?" Akko mumbled, raising a head full of stray hair from its position on Diana's shoulder where it hadn't moved for a long time. "It's fine, we can be gross any time," she answered tiredly, kissing Diana's cheek.

"See, this is exactly what I need to get away from," Amanda complained, faking disgust as Diana's jaw tensed in a failed attempt not to let her blush show.

"Well if you insist on going without Diana," Hannah spoke up angrily, rising to her feet. "I won't allow you to be let loose in the manor without supervision."

"Huh? You're making me sound like a kid!" Amanda complained, but then shrugged. "But I mean if you wanna be close to me, that's your choice," she deflected, shooting the English witch a smug grin.

"Ack - hey!" Hannah huffed as Jasminka turned to leave, Amanda close behind her. "I'm just making sure your stupid self isn't going to break anything!" She shouted, running after them.

There was a short pause as their bickering voices faded down the corridor. Barbara turned slowly to Akko and Diana, the other two girls in the room, before sighing and leaning her head back.

"I don't know how this happened but now I'm third-wheeling," she laughed nervously. "Maybe I should just-"

"Don't worry about it!" Akko interrupted. "We can save gross stuff for later because for now," she began, standing up and drilling her eyes into a particular book on one of the shelves, "I've found something that looks fun."

"Akko, these books are pretty advanced," Diana warned, following her to the shelf where the brunette picked out a particular book, titled 8 old rituals for a witching trio. "Especially this one."

"What's she trying to do?" Barbara asked with amusement, moving to stand beside them and watching as Akko opened the book.

"Magic," Akko answered half-heartedly. "Diana Diana, can we do one of these?"

"Akko, these are high-level spells. I doubt I could do them with Barbara and Hannah, let alone with Barbara and..." She faltered. Akko's eyes shot up to meet hers and there was a short silence. At that moment, she could see the sparkle in Akko's eyes dwindling. "Fine," Diana conceded, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Everyone else has fortunately dispersed anyway, so we're the only three who have to see what happens if it goes wrong."

"Yess!" You're the best!" Akko shouted, wrapping Diana up in a tight hug.

"Yes, well, we'll see..." Diana cleared her throat, averting her eyes. Barbara snorted.

"Okay, check this one out," Akko hopped up and down, pointing at a chapter in the book before and holding it close to read the small text. "This spell can be used to peer into one's very magical essence."

"I'm not sure this is a good idea," Diana spoke quietly.

"Hey, don't worry about it!" Akko grinned. "There's a section at the end of the book about common errors and how to fix them!"

"This is so dumb. This is the exact thing we're taught never to do," Diana sighed, but was robbed of her argument by Akko's energy. "So let's just get on with it and see what happens."

Fortunately, the spell didn't have any material components, so it was easy for the three to stand in a triangular formation after reading the instructions in the book.

None of them had cast this before, so while Diana and Barbara were both unhappy and nervous, Akko was jumping with excitement.

"Is this typical witch's night out stuff?" She asked. "Ice age and rituals for three?"

"Focus," Diana reprimanded her. There was almost no chance of success but with every tangent in Akko's mind, the outcome could be worse.

"Okay," Akko agreed, nodding her head. She was going to do her best.

Inevitabaly, her best was was not sufficient in this case. Moments after they had begun their chant, swirls of green were rocketing between the three, flashing brightly and irregularly. Diana felt her hands tingling as though she were using an electric pen, her vision growing brighter until she was tempted to shield her eyes. She didn't speak a word, electing to focus on the instructions in her mind. Suddenly the area in front of her was hot, and the rapturous humming sound in front of her grew louder - it was as though lightning was striking between the three.

At the last second, she felt something slip in Akko's direction - the brunette was unable to keep up. Before any of them could respond, a shockwave exploded from the centre of the room, knocking all of them off-balance. Diana gasped, staggering backwards as the spell came to an abrupt stop. Smokey mist hung in the air as she and Barbara gained their breath before looking up to survey the damage.

Only, when they looked up, there wasn't just one Akko in front of them.

"Akko?" Diana cried, her eyes widening as a plethora of different Akkos filled the room - some sat down, some examining the bookshelves, some surrounding Barbara but a good number of them had surrounded Diana, each of them grinning her typical bright grin.

"Hi Diana! Heya Diana! Sup Diana!" Came a chorus of replies. Numerous Akkos' laughter filled the room, a number of Akko bodies clinging onto Diana in tight hugs.

"What is this?" Barbara hissed, but Diana was too distracted. With bright red cheeks, she couldn't think about anything apart from the sandwich she had become a part of, the number of Akko arms around her body and the number of Akko hands holding hers. As if the abject chaos of the room wasn't bad enough. "Diana?"

Diana shook her head, trying to focus. It looked like there were ten Akkos. Not all of them were smiling and laughing now.

"Barbara, the book, quickly!" Diana responded, turning her eyes to the door and panicking. A number of Akkos had apparently grown bored with the lack of attention and left the room.

"Right!" The dark-haired witch responded and, unimpeded by the thinning crowd of Akkos around Diana, picked up the box and flipped quickly to the end of the book.

"A-Akko, calm down! Wait, stay still!" Diana shouted, but to no effect. Another one had left the room, and another. Scanning the room again, Diana just noticed another Akko - this one was lying still on the floor. "Akko?!" She cried, running up to this one and kneeling down by her side.

This hadn't gone to plan.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter might be a bit monotonous but it gets pretty fun soon

"Here, there's something in the book," Barbara spoke quickly, kneeling down opposite Diana with Akko between them. A few Akkos watched with curiosity from the edges of the room, but their attention wavered quickly, and within seconds the room was completely still again.

There was finally quietness in the room, but it didn't help Diana relax at all.

"With this ritual..." Barbara spoke quietly, skim-reading the book. "Well there's only one entry in the book related to multiple of this person appearing, and that's personality fracture..."

"Personality fracture?" Diana parrotted.

"Several aspects of the caster's personality can be separated and viewed separately..." Barbara skim-read. "Something's gone wrong and the link holding them all together is damaged..."

"How do you fix it?" Diana huffed.

"It says you have to validate each emotion individually," Barbara frowned.

"What?" Diana asked, taking the book out of her friend's hands and reading it. "What about this one?" She asked, gesturing to the unconscious Akko between them. Barbara shrugged. "Okay, this is the real Akko," Diana gestured again to the Akko lying down while reading the book. "It seems like we need to find each Akko, find out which part of her personality each is and... Validate it... Once we do, it will disappear and once we've done all of them, Akko will wake up."

There was a short pause.

"So... Appease them?" Barbara asked.

"I don't know... Appeal to the personality trait? Let them express themself?" Diana hazarded. "Either way, we've got to figure it out before they cause too much trouble. How many did you see?"

"Ten," Barbara responded.

"I saw ten too," Diana nodded her head. "As well as this one. Let's put her on a sofa at least," she suggested, carefully picking the brunette up with one hand under her knees and one under her neck, placing her down gently on the sofa.

Diana sighed deeply, turning to Barbara.

"Where is everyone?" She asked herself. "I know Lotte is in the library."

"And Sucy in the lab," Barbara added.

"Hannah, Constanze, Jasminka, and Amanda," Diana completed the list to herself. "Fortunately three of them are together. For now, go to the lab and explain the situation to Sucy. I'll go to the library."

"Got it," Barbara nodded, setting off quickly through the door with Diana close behind her until they separated at the corridor.

"At least we managed to get through a whole film before anything went wrong," Diana muttered, pacing towards the library. She was out of breath by the time she had reached it - its old door hung open, a loud voice coming from inside. Definitely Akko's voice. Diana crept closer and poked her head around the side to survey the scene - Lotte wasn't reading, her attention was completely taken by a highly energetic, highly distracting Akko who was bouncing around the room, often tripping or knocking something over, causing Diana to cringe each time.

"A-Akko, what do you want?" Lotte bleated. "You can just ask, okay? No need for all of this-"

"Diana!" Lotte was cut off as Akko spotted the third figure stood in the doorway. For the second time that afternoon, Diana barely had time to respond before she was rushed by a high-velocity mass of human energy, almost pushing her back out of the library again in her eagerness to hug Diana.

"Akko," Diana responded simply. Lotte looked more than relieved to see her. "She's just got here, yes?" Diana asked the ginger, who nodded. "And has been behaving like this?" Another nod.

"Is something the matter?" Lotte asked. Diana nodded her head.

"Whatever you have in your head, it's worse."

"Oh," Lotte sighed, closing her book and standing up. "Alright, what have we got to do?" Diana almost chuckled. Lotte was as used to dealing with Akko as Diana was, if not more.

"Akko wanted to try a complex casting ritual," Diana explained. "Inevitably it failed and now her personality is split into several different Akkos who are running free around the manor. Ten, if I'm correct."

"Standard," Lotte mumbled, eyeing Akko. "How can I help?"

"The book says we need to identify what part of Akko we're facing and validate it... I assume this just means we have to play along with it or give it some kind of closure." Both girls turned to Akko, who had since rushed to the other side of the room and back to inspect a trail of sunlight flowing through the window, her laughter almost non-stop. "I take it this is her hyperactive nature."

"It seems like it," Lotte nodded, cautiously approaching. "So, what, we have to... Be excited with her?"

"I don't know," Diana responded. "That or give her something to be excited about. We've got to figure it out, and quickly."

At this point, Akko had run back towards the window again, panting hard, staring in astonishment at the number of side buildings outside.

"Cavendish manor, huh?" Lotte wondered aloud, getting an idea before approaching Akko. "It's pretty cool, right? I heard a rumour that it's so huge, it stretches on for, um, a hundred times as far underground as it does above ground!"

"Huuh?" Akko's eyes widened as she spun to her side and grabbed Lotte's shoulders. "Seriously? Diana?" She asked, darting to face the blonde.

"Ehm... Absolutely," Diana nodded awkwardly. "And it's not a hundred times, it's five hundred times..." She hazarded.

"Five hundred?" Akko gawked.

"Right, and there are... ogres and manticores and dragons and unicorns all living together!" Lotte suggested nervously. Luckily, it seemed like this part of Akko had absolutely no logic to her, and didn't for a second seem to doubt what they were saying.

"Oh my God! Diana! You have to let me come and see!" She jumped into the air before running up to Diana and taking her hand between both of her own, holding it up between them. Diana hesitated for a second, hanging her head and sighing before raising it again with a wide smile.

"I will, later this evening," she lied. "We can bring everyone too if you like, and... Shiny Chariot will be performing there when we do!" She continued, feeling more guilty with each word she spoke as Akko's unfaltering amazed expression only grew. "She said that she would be choosing someone to be her performing companion and you would be perfect for the job!"

"N-no way..." Akko whispered, familiar green magic particles beginning to emanate from her skin.

"Yeah, it's that good?" Lotte weakly added, feeling like a fool.

"Akko, I'm so excited!" Diana concluded, meeting Akko's eyes and putting on her best smile.

"M-" Akko stammered, her form slowly being overcome in a magical shimmer. "Me too..." She whispered, only to be dispersed into a dense magical aura moments later, soon fading out and disappearing from sight.

There was a short, tense silence where Lotte stared at Diana.

"Well that was strange," the blonde shook her head. "Stop feeling guilty," she spoke to herself, turning back to the door to the library.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help much, I..." Lotte spoke up. "I don't know, I didn't know what to say..."

"It's fine, we did it," Diana assured the girl. "Thanks for the help."

"So what now?" Lotte asked.

"We go to the lab, where Sucy and Barbara should be," Diana answered easily. "I'd appreciate if we could all group up, stick together and figure things out."

"Y-yeah, makes sense," Lotte nodded. "I'm right behind you."

Worrying thoughts were filling Diana's mind as she walked briskly from the library with Lotte close behind her - what would happen if they didn't manage to fix this? Would Akko never wake up? Would she lose part of her personality? Would the Akkos leave the manor and roam the world individually? Diana clenched her fists. She wouldn't be able to handle it if something went wrong with Akko. Especially not if it was her fault for allowing it and casting the stupid spell.

Fortunately the lab wasn't far at all from the library - as she opened the door, Sucy and Barbara were both inside, as she expected, and in a stroke of luck, there was another Akko in there too, arguing with Sucy.

"Diana!" Barbara looked up as the door opened, the two witches entering the lab quickly. "What happened?"

"There was one in the library," Diana responded, taking a close look at the Akko who was pestering Sucy. It looked as though Barbara had been trying to convince the girl, though she showed no signs of caring, as ever. "It was her excitable nature and we dealt with it by being excited with her," Diana half-heartedly explained. Her focus was on Akko, whose focus was sternly on the potion Sucy had tucked to the side. "What's going on here?"

"She just wants one of Sucy's potions," Barbara responded with confusion. "There's nothing else to it... Is there a part of her that secretly loves potions? Is there something specific about that potion that she needs?"

Before Diana could suggest anything, she heard Lotte groan beside her, and turned to her.

"No, it's not that," the ginger explained, rubbing her forehead with her palm. "Akko saw Sucy brewing this last night in our dorm and wanted to try it, but of course Sucy denied her. There's nothing about that potion, it's just something she decided she wanted out of the blue, and it's probably on her mind as the last thing she couldn't get?"

"So, what, this is her obsessive nature?" Diana queried as Akko made another undignified grab for the potion, only for Sucy to stop her with a palm in her face, not diverting her attention from her work.

"I don't know what you're all talking about," Sucy monotoned. "This is just normal Akko."

There was a short silence as the gears turned in the witches' heads.

"So..." Barbara began. "This is the literal manifestation of her stubbornness?"

"It would seem like it," Diana answered. "And I suspect she'll sooner die than give up on getting that potion."

"Doesn't sound too bad," Sucy joked. "She could do with being a little less stubborn."

"Sucy!" Diana scolded her, earning the slightest of finches. "You know as well as anyone that her stubbornness is exactly why she's achieved as much as she has!"

"So you're saying the only way to deal with Akko is to roll over and give her what she wants?" Sucy shot back. Diana pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I'm saying that this entity, not Akko, is comprised of nothing but obstinate will, we have 8 more to deal with and all you have to do is hand over your bloody potion! She's going to disappear the second you do, anyway!"

"She'd better," Sucy mumbled, hesitantly dropping her arm and watching Akko with thin eyes as she bounded forwards, ignoring everything but the potion in front of her.

Diana held her breath for a moment as Akko reached it, and picked it up - only to breathe a deep sign of relief as the same green glow from the previous Akko began to fill the air. With wide, happy eyes, Akko fumbled with the lid of the potion for a few seconds and, just before the substance reached her mouth, she was gone.

Diana caught the potion in the air with a spell a split-second before it hit the ground.

"See?" She asked with frustration, returning it to its previous position with the lid on. Sucy watched the last traces of magical mist disappear with surprised eyes, as though she really had been sceptical that they'd been telling the truth the whole time.

"Thank you," Lotte provided.

"Right then," Diana spoke, standing up straight and clearing her throat. "We still need to find Hannah, Amanda, Jasminka and Constanze. I think the best course of action would-" Diana stopped suddenly, flinching when there came a crashing sound coming from close outside the door to the lab. A pained expression donned her face as immediately afterwards, glass shattered in the same place.

"I take it we've either found the next Akko or Amanda," Sucy monotoned, standing up as Diana quickly made her way to the door.

After pushing it open, she paused. In the corridor ahead of them, now slightly dimmer than before, one of the large portraits had fallen from the wall, its glass frame clearly shattered though luckily the shards were held in place by the wooden frame. Stood next to it, predictably, was a third Akko - her expression one of guilt and shock.

It caused Diana to pause for a moment and, though baffled by the fact that this Akko was unmistakably wearing an old crown from the treasury in the manor, she looked up to Akko's guilty expression.

"Clumsy Akko?" Barbara queried.

"Akko, are you okay?" Diana instinctively asked, taking a cautious step forwards. Something about this one didn't seem right.

"D-Diana, I'm sorry, I-" Akko stammered, her hand coming to rest on the wall beside another portrait behind her.

"It's okay," Diana said quietly, approaching until they were very close together.

"I'm sorry," Akko repeated, suddenly pushing her arm backwards and deliberately knocking another portrait down - its glass similarly shattering as it hit the cold hard floor. "My hand seemed to slip," she spoke, her tone suddenly amused.

"Huh? Akko-" Diana frowned, cut off from what she was about to say before this Akko suddenly closed the short distance between them, pushed her into a wall and kissed her fully on the mouth. Diana let out a muffled sound of shock, her cheeks instantly burning bright red as Akko's eyes looked more smug than she had ever seen before.

When Akko stepped away, sooner than Diana had hoped, Diana stared in bafflement for a moment, unable to fathom a response in her embarrassment as the others looked on. As Diana waited in stunned silence, this Akko burst out laughing and took off at a run down the corridor, quickly disappearing around a corner before Diana could even register than she was gone, her cackling echoing around for several seconds afterwards.

"W-what..." Diana whispered, her eyes wide. "What was that?"

"Oh, they're all Akko alright," Sucy smirked. "And this one's a troublemaker."

"Diana, are you okay?" Barbara asked.

"Fine," Diana insisted, coughing into her hand. "But did you see what was on her head?" She asked, suddenly nervous that any number of items could have been stolen or damaged.

"I saw," Barbara worriedly nodded.

"Barbara, take these girls and check the treasury," Diana instructed. "Make sure nothing else is stolen, make sure it's in good condition. I'm going to find the others."

"Got it," she answered quickly, turning to Lotte and Sucy. "Come on," she gestured for them to follow before moving in the same direction as the Akko with the crown.

"How come she's in charge now?" Sucy mumbled, following Barbara nonetheless.

"Right," Diana breathed out as she found herself alone in the corridor. She only needed to look around until she found anyone else - be it Hannah, Amanda, Jasminka, Constanze or another Akko. With that in mind, she rolled her shoulders back and set off at a jog towards the main hall. It seemed like an obvious place to start.

As it turned out, she was right. Just as she reached the hall, she heard a muffled shout from behind the door ahead of her. Though she couldn't make out who it was, Diana knew it was the next way she needed to go. She was considering calling out to ask if whoever it was was okay, but she kept her mouth shut as she crept closer.

She only needed a few seconds to tell without a shred of doubt that it was Akko once she was up against the door that lead into the room it sounded like Akko was in. That furious tone of voice was particularly recognisable. It was very fortunate that she'd managed to run into four Akkos in a row, but she could only imagine how stressful it was going to be later on when she only had a few targets.

"Akko?" Diana asked nervously, and the shouting instantly stopped. Diana gulped nervously, stepping back from the door in concern before loud footsteps suddenly approached from the other side, and the door was forcibly thrown open.

"What!?" Akko hissed from the other side, her face contorted with rage. This one seemed perfectly self-explanatory.

"Is everything alright?" Diana hazarded.

"Everything alright? No, not everything's alright!" Akko spat, storming past her. Diana braced herself and peeked into the room that the furious girl had come from, noting a number of toppled pieces of furniture. Luckily, not a lot else was damaged.

"What's wrong, Akko?" She asked, turning around.

"Oh, hell if I know. Loads of little things," Akko mumbled, pacing towards the main door. "Couldn't find the kitchen. Stubbed my toe on the table. And this door," she huffed, pushing it open. "Why is it so damn tall?"

"Actually I agree with that," Diana spoke under her breath.

"It's so frustrating, we're supposed to be on holiday here and all I can think about is the work Finnelan set!" Akko moved on quickly, stepping onto the immaculate lawn. "Does she know what a holiday is? It's so... Annoying!" She hissed, trying to kick up the smooth ground to no avail.

"This should be simple," Diana said to herself, taking out her wand. "Something to take out her anger on..." She mused. "Here, Akko," she spoke loudly into the wind, prompting Akko to spin around and glare expectantly at her. Diana nodded, bringing her wand up in front of her and closing her eyes, focusing on the spell. Something large, something delicate. Something she could easily summon that Akko could easily destroy, that would disappear afterwards.

A large, thin column of wood? A large hollow statue of Finnelan? Diana smirked. That was definitely it.

"Here, what?" Akko frowned - but Diana was already starting the spell. As ever, something wasn't right - a painful sting tugging at her core - the ritual that had brought this about had clearly taken a greater toll on her than she'd realised. She hoped Barbara was okay, let alone Akko. Still, she knew what needed to be done, and quickly went about envisioning and bringing into reality a large, lightweight wooden statue of their very own magical languages professor.

Diana fell to her knees, panting and clutching her core. The sting was fading slowly, though she knew she couldn't risk casting much more magic until she had rested.

"Have at it," she, spoke through gritted teeth, looking up and finding herself relieved to see Akko donning a smirk instead of a scowl.

"That's more like it!" Akko shouted, raising her wand.

For most of the procedure, Diana was doubled over with her eyes screwed shut, but she caught glimpses of the inevitable destruction - blinding green flashes, sparks and fire, chunks of wood flying all around the lawn. Akko's furious shouting didn't stop for some time, and Diana began to worry that this wasn't a proper solution, but only seconds after the thought had crossed her mind, the sounds stopped.

Diana looked up hopefully to see Akko slump back and fall onto her back, chuckling softly and statue completely gone.

"We gotta..." Akko whispered, magical particles swimming around her being as her head fell back against the grass. "Do this again some time..."

"Darn well you saying that," Diana mumbled, slowly rising to her feet, trying to wipe the soil off her knees. "At least that makes 3 down already. Seven to go." As she turned to make her way back inside, she began to feel slightly light-headed and groaned. "I'm about ready for a break now."

The next thing on her mind was checking in on the treasury before she went looking for anyone else, just to be sure that everything was alright.

It didn't take long to get there, but when she did, she turned to ice.

While the three girls she'd sent here were here and the room was in good condition - notably the only missing item was the crown - the phrase _'Diana skipped class to make out with me'_ was burned into the wall. Apparently, the girls had deemed it fit not to fix that mark yet as Lotte blushed furiously, Barbara tried to hold in her laughter and Sucy snickered shamelessly at Diana's horrified reaction, her arms tense, her cheeks bright red and her fists curled.

"Akko, you're in so much trouble."


	3. Chapter 3

"Whoa! So, what, Diana gets this whole place to herself apart from the servants and three family members?" Came an amused voice, bouncing down extensive corridors as a number of footsteps travelled together. "This place is damn huge!" Amanda shot in a tone halfway between that of admiration and that of a complaint.

"Of course it is," Hannah responded with second-hand smugness. "The Cavendish family dates back one thousand five hundred years, and their witching history is most well-renowned-"

"Well sure," Amanda cut her off, "but what the hell do they need all this space for? I mean, I get that she and Akko need a lot of space to themselves and all but isn't a bedroom and onsen enough to do the deed?"

"I-" Hannah stammered, her face quickly turning red as she crossed her arms. Jasminka rolled her eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about! This manor used to house a much larger family, who would be deeply involved in a number of magical activities and studies! Not to mention its critical role in the war-"

"I was talking about sex," Amanda spoke as if Hannah weren't talking, grinning to herself as the shorter girl inevitably went quiet. "Speaking of, where is Diana's room?" There was a short pause before Hannah spoke.

"I think it's best I don't tell you that," Hannah scoffed, "given the connotations you've been making."

"Pfft, every girl's got her needs," the redhead easily responded. "And I bet you Diana's no exception." As they walked, they came to a junction on the edge of the house where they came to a stop and Amanda, who was leading the group, paused to look expectantly at Hannah, who pouted indignantly.

"I suppose you're referring to something sexual again?" She hazarded.

"Now you're getting it!" Amanda chuckled. "Gimmie five minutes in her room and I'll tell you where her porn-"

"Good gracious, Amanda!" Hannah shot, her eyes wide and her hands on her hips. "Have you no dignity?" There was a short pause as Amanda's lips became a thin line of concentration as she tried to hold in a laugh, instead slowly shaking her head. "Besides..." Hannah mumbled. "I'm sure that, with Akko, Diana doesn't have any need for such... such..."

"Jeez, Hannah!" Amanda broke, leaning back against the wall and laughing loudly. "How - how often do you think those two go at it?"

"Oh my god," Jasminka mumbled as Hannah's face grew redder than Amanda's hair and she turned away from the teasing girl. "I thought Diana and Akko were bad, but you two?" That did the trick. Instantly the two of them stopped dead and turned to look confusedly at Jasminka. "You two are an absolute disaster," she huffed, turning around. "I'm gonna go find Constanze. You two can do your thing."

"W-wait-" Amanda stuttered, frowning. "Hey, what the heck? What does that mean?" She shouted, but Jasminka didn't respond. She only walked further down the corridor until eventually, retracing their steps, she turned a corner and was gone.

Hannah stared despondently, silently pleading not to be left alone with the redhead, but it seemed like her wish would go unfulfilled. She could easily follow Jasminka of course, though she wasn't sure if Amanda would then follow after them too or, more likely, wander off on her own. There was only a short pause, however, before the bewildered silence came to an end and Amanda shot a smug glance at Hannah.

"Gonna stick with little old me?" She asked.

"I said I wasn't going to let you roam this manor unsupervised," Hannah huffed. "The fact that the other sensible member of our group is gone now doesn't change that."

"Oh, I'm insensible?" Amanda asked, clutching her heart. "I'm hurt."

"Good," Hannah mumbled, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Well," Amanda asked, leaning back and stretching her shoulders. "Since you want to be my personal tour guide, where to next?"

"Huh?" Hannah frowned. "It was fine when you were leading."

"Well, if that's the kind of girl you are," Amanda quipped easily, turning around to walk down the empty corridor behind her, registering Hannah's following footsteps. "Hey, where do you reckon Diana's favourite make-out spots are there? I bet there are plenty of dark corners and cellars, not to mention the grounds outside."

"Is that all that goes through your mind?" Hannah rolled her eyes.

"We're in her house," Amanda looked back at Hannah. "I don't get this opportunity every day."

"It doesn't have to be the only thing you talk about. Besides, why would you make out in the cellar?" She mumbled.

Instantly Amanda perked up, and she knew she'd made a mistake.

"Huh? What was that? Didn't hear you," the taller girl lied.

"Nevermind, it wasn't-"

"No, go on, please."

"I..." Hannah cursed silently. "I said why would you make out in the cellar, is all. I was just-"

"Cause it's dark and no one goes there. And kinda risqué, don't you think?" Amanda grinned. "Oh, Akko," she mocked in an imitation of Diana's voice. "But what if the scullery maid comes here to fetch another bottle of port for the congregation? Are we to hide or simply kill her to remove the witness?"

"What are you talking about?" Hannah shot as Amanda stepped through a door at the edge of the corridor and entered a small, windowless room with a grand piano against the opposite wall and a number of books piled up next to it.

"Besides," Amanda quickly moved on, the echo of the corridor completely gone in the closed space. "You're one to question where they do it. Got any better places you wanna try in that head of yours?" She asked, turning to her side where Hannah had followed her in.

"Amanda, I didn't mean to insinuate-"

"No but you're allowed to," Amanda cut her off, studying her intently. It was hard to tell whether she was simply embarrassed as she was raised so 'properly' that the topic was entirely taboo to her, or if she actually had been wondering the same thing, but in either case teasing her was the most fun she'd had in a long time. With only the slight ambient light from the corridor through the door, Amanda could tell that she was tense - understandably nervous - so much so that when the door clicked shut behind them, she visibly flinched. "Hannah?" Amanda asked, suddenly worried that she was making the other girl uncomfortable.

"If I had to guess, I would say they use Diana's room the most," Hannah answered quietly. Amanda blinked. "And if not there, there's a... a spot behind the house some distance from the path amid some light forestry where she used to play when she was young. I can imagine her re-visiting that area with Akko."

There was a long silence. Amanda hadn't been expecting that at all. Hannah looked tentative.

"Well damn," Amanda eventually spoke. "I didn't think you had it in you."

"Of course I do," Hannah huffed, turning the other way before quickly jerking and turning back. "B-by which I mean, it's not exactly difficult to, ehm, imagine that kind of thing! I simply decide not to!" Amanda snorted. "Nothing's funny," Hannah mumbled.

"Well since we're breaking the trend of deciding not to, wanna show me where that spot is?" Amanda asked in a smooth, low voice. Hannah blinked twice, shaking her head with lips pursed in confusion.

"Wh-what are you saying?" Hannah asked in a weak tone. Amanda shrugged.

"If you don't like the idea, we can always go somewhere else," she cleared her throat, reaching up with one hand to run it through her hair. Hannah stared, her back against the wall next to the door, right next to Amanda. It was so dark that Amanda had to strain to see the blush on Hannah's face as her eyes faced the ground in hesitation, and she suddenly felt her heart pounding in her chest.

"This room is fine," Hannah spoke so quietly her voice was barely a whisper. Amanda froze, looking up to her eyes. "I mean... Dark. Secluded." Amanda opened her mouth to speak but closed it again, the number of teasing responses that would usually roll off her tongue completely silent in her mind.

"Huh..." Amanda turned her body fully to face the other girl, instinctively leaning forwards to place her palm against the wall next to Hannah's head. "Fine for what?"

With her hands fiddling with each other in front of her chest, Hannah almost looked like she was trembling. She didn't respond, only boldly looked up to meet Amanda's eyes.

Amanda breathed out slowly, taking a short step closer to the smaller girl until their chests were almost touching, nervous to break the tense silence between the two. Hannah didn't seem to mind. In fact, for a second it looked like she was beginning to lean forwards.

Before the door loudly slammed open.

Hannah yelped, and before Amanda could even step backwards, she had moved into the opposite corner of the room. Amanda's shook her head, trying to shake off her blush before her eyes darted to the door before scowling.

"You guys!" Akko shouted, running forwards and hugging Amanda.

"Akko!" Akko Amanda hissed, scrunching her nose and stepping backwards. It was the wrong girl holding her. Glancing back at Hannah told her that she was stood with her back against the far wall, covering her face. "What do you want?" She shot at the brunette.

"I'm so glad I found you two," she moped.

"What's up?" Amanda muttered.

"Hey, here's an idea, let's go and find the others so we can be in an even bigger group!" Akko suggested. Amanda frowned.

"...Akko, what the hell? This is what you came in here to-"

"I really appreciate Lotte, you know?" Akko asked, scratching her chin. "How about you, Hannah?" She asked cluelessly. With two pairs of eyes suddenly on her, Hannah shook her head, her ponytail flying from side to side behind her, before she paced briskly for the door.

"I'm gonna go find Diana and Barbara," she excused herself, and her running could be heard the moment she left the room.

"Ugh, nice work, dumbass," Amanda chided her, tensing her jaw. Even then, it seemed like Akko wasn't paying any attention.

"Hey, do you know where the others are?" Akko asked.

"What's got you so excited to be in a big group?" Amanda huffed. "Something you wanna show us?"

"Huh?" Akko asked, frowning as though Amanda had asked a stupid question. "Pfft, the more people the better, right?" She asked, throwing open the door. "We're not gonna find them stood around in here!"

"Sure..." Amanda muttered. "You know your way around, right?" At least Akko could help her find where Hannah had gone off to.

"Yep!" She responded, hopping through the door.

"Great," Amanda sighed. She wasn't sure just what had been disturbed - she only knew that she wished it hadn't been. After setting off behind Akko, the two had only got to the end of the corridor before Jasminka and Constanze bumped into them, and Akko's face lit up.

"Amanda, there you are!" Jasmnka huffed.

"Huh? Jasna? What's up?"

"That's what I should be asking you. We saw Hannah running away from here a second ago, and she looked extremely distressed. What did you do?" She asked firmly.

"Oh..." Amanda faltered. "We were... Talking... Then suddenly, Akko bursts into the room and starts making a lot of noise," she shot, giving the brunette a dark look. "How come, is she not okay? I really gotta find her."

"More people!" Akko cried, jumping up to Jasminka and hugging her.

"Akko?" The Russian witch asked with confusion. Constanze looked up at their hug and frowned. "You look like you're in a much better mood than before. Can I assume everything's okay now?"

"Was she in a bad mood earlier?" Amanda asked. "Because she's behaving really weirdly.

"Yeah, Cons and I walked past her just a minute ago," Jasminka answered. "I don't really know what was going on with her but she was crouched down in a corner hugging her knees. We tried to talk to her but she wouldn't respond, so we decided to try to find Diana before we heard Hannah running past."

Amanda thinned her eyes.

"Akko, what's going on, really?"

"I'm fine!" Akko responded. "Actually, I'm just happy to have found you all! Say, do you know where the others are?"

The three girls of the green dorm shared a look.

"Last we saw them, everyone was in the living area just next to the guest rooms," Jasminka answered.

"Alright! Let's go!" Akko smiled, skipping down the corridor. Amanda, Jasminka and Constanze just stared as she went.

"What's with her?" Amanda asked quietly.

"I have no idea..." Jasminka answered. "I can only hope she's alright."

"Well, that was weird, but putting that behind us," Amanda cleared her throat. "You two wanna keep looking around this place with me?"

  
Hannah stormed down the corridor towards the living area. Perhaps she'd just retreat to her own room instead. She had no idea what she got out of, but she could still feel Amanda's breath on her face, and hairs on her skin rising as they did when Amanda's arm trapped her against the wall. She could tell that her face was still embarrassingly red and that her heart was beating unhealthily quickly.

Tears stung at her eyes. She wished Akko hadn't found them when she did, but now she wanted nothing more than to hide from both her and Amanda.

The sky was darkening outside, casting twilight rays into the corridor through the wide windows that reminded her of Luna Nova. She froze when she heard approaching footsteps, hoping that they would divert so she could hide in her room without bumping into anyone first, but one of the worst scenarios presented itself.

In front of her, Akko jumped out from around the corner as if she knew Hannah was there and she was trying to scare her.

"Akko, what do you want?" Hannah hissed, turning the other way. She didn't want to be seen by Akko. Only, before she could move back down the corridor she came from, she did a double-take and stared at Akko - or rather the crown on her head. "Hey, isn't that from the treasury?"

"Oh, this?" Akko asked, pointing at the crown and smiling. "Yep! Looks good on me, right?"

"Akko, Diana trusts you a lot!" Hannah frowned. "You should put that back. And how did you even get that out of its case?"

"Huh? What are you gonna do about it?" Akko giggled, staring daggers into Hannah's eyes. It was like she was deadly serious but enjoying herself at the same time, and it was infuriating. Hannah had half a mind to pull her wand and take the crown off Akko.

"W..." She stammered, unsure of how to respond. "Diana is going to know," Hannah huffed. "You could get all of us into a world of trouble. Please put it back."

"What's it to you if I annoy Cavendish a bit? Isn't stirring up some trouble the best fun a girl can have?" Akko smirked. Hannah frowned. Akko never called Diana that. "Besides, she already knows I took."

"Wait, she's okay with that?" Hannah asked.

"No," Akko laughed. "But I left before she did anything about it."

"Akko," Hannah grit her teeth, dropping her hand to the wand at her hip.

"Oh, Hannah," Akko spoke as if she'd just remembered something, causing Hannah's hand to hesitate on her wand.

"What?" She asked cautiously as Akko stepped closer.

"So, Amanda."

Hannah's eyes instantly thinned with annoyance.

"What about her?"

"She has a crush on you~" Akko whispered in her ear, stepping behind her.

Hannah froze, her muscles turning to ice.

"D...Does she?" She asked, slowly turning around, but Akko was gone.

Hannah gulped, bringing her hands to her chest. She didn't know what was going on this evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry


	4. Chapter 4

Diana pinched the bridge of her nose, slowly shaking her head. The text on the wall - no doubt written by one of the many Akkos, most likely the chaotic one with the crown, was not exactly incorrect. Of course, she couldn't let anyone realise that. For all they knew, it was just a little white lie - and with all that was going on at the moment, it wasn't exactly her biggest concern.

Ignoring the heckling around her, she spun around to face the doorway and tensed her jaw.

"You three," she began, addressing Barbara, Lotte and Sucy. "Go and search the manor for the others. Group up and explain what's happening to them."

"Wait, where are you going?" Barbara asked as Diana was already making her way out of the door. Diana hesitated, but only briefly.

"My room. I think it's likely there'll be one there," she answered. "Otherwise, I'll keep looking around as you three will."

"This really has turned into an evening of following orders," Sucy grumbled, following a nervous-looking Barbara nonetheless. "Might as well be in one of Nelson's lessons."

"Enough of that. We have to sort this out," Barbara's scolding voice proceeded Sucy's tired one as Diana paced down the corridor, her own bedroom in mind. If there were none in her room, she might check the kitchens next, or more likely some of the living areas. Possibly the stables. If the worst came to the worst, she would enter the servants' quarters and explain, asking them to help her search.

Her lips were still tingling from the kiss Akko had left there after knocking the paintings over. Diana scowled, swearing that even though she loved Akko, she would have reparations to make. She had been caught like a deer in headlights in that moment, where the Akko wearing the crown had kissed her and ran. It wasn't her fault that Akko was intoxicating.

Her train of thought came to an abrupt stop when she lingered in front of her, noticing a distinct rustling sound from inside. There was definitely someone in there. Closing her eyes and praying that it wasn't Amanda, Diana pushed open the door.

She promptly paused when inside her room was not one but two people, both of whom Akko. She wasn't sure whether to sigh in relief or panic when she saw both of them rummaging through her things, stopping and looking guiltily up at her like children caught stealing from the cookie jar when they heard the door fly open. Apparently she had settled on the latter when her hand automatically moved to pinch the bridge of her nose, her eyes thinning in frustration.

"What do you think you're doing?" Diana hissed.

Slowly and almost comically in sync with each other, both Akkos turned to meet each other's eyes then back to Diana again. Suddenly, they both stood up.

"Diana!" They cried, running towards her and each wrapping their arms around her.

"What-hey-" Diana stammered, stepping back from the tackling force that had just hit her with Akkos close on either of her sides. With no space between their chests and her arms, Diana's limbs were suddenly trapped inside the affectionate cocoon of the brunettes around her. She felt her face rapidly heating up as both displayed distinctly Akko-like spontaneous joy that would otherwise be enchanting, forcing her to take a second to gather herself and break free of her flustered state, incapable of forming a sentence. As if one over-affectionate Akko wasn't enough. "Smiling and laughing doesn't get you off the hook!" She eventually huffed, stepping inside her room and dragging them both with her like two small children, closing the door behind her. "Now what are you two doing here?" She asked again, once the two had finally calmed down and separated from her.

"Well," one answered quickly, returning to the bookshelf she had been rooting through when Diana arrived. "I was just so excited to be in another Chariot fan's house! I mean, I know you've told me you're secretly a massive fan and all, so I was looking around your room to see if I could find anything - like an ultra-rare Chariot card, or comics or figurines! Actually-" She spoke as if she'd suddenly had an idea, reaching down and patting her pockets, then her back and frowning in confusion. "I could swear I had some of my comics when we arrived at the manor..."

"And you?" Diana asked, unimpressed, as she turned to the other Akko, who had moved to sit on Diana's king-sized bed. This Akko's demeanour had changed significantly though - her breathing had quickened, deep red covering her cheeks. She crossed and uncrossed her legs as she looked up at Diana through her eyelashes. Something electric and uncontrollable lit up in Diana's core - she had seen that look before as Akko's hands fidgeted with one another and she bit her lip. "I just really love you..." she almost whined, raising one hand to twirl her hair around and patting the bed beside her with her other. "And I thought... maybe we could have some fun?"

"A-" Diana stammered briefly, before realising her mouth was hung uselessly open and consciously shutting it. "W - even with her here?" She spluttered, gesturing towards the first Akko. There were a number of thoughts going through her mind and while that wasn't exactly at their forefront, it's the first one Diana could externalise.

"I don't see the problem," second Akko responded. "I mean, we're both Akko, right? Maybe she could join in-"

"Hm?" The first Akko perked up, a blissful innocent smile on her face. "I'd love to do something fun with you two! Hey, what if the three of us did a Chariot style performance together?"

"I-" Diana stuttered again, but quickly shook her head and shut her mouth. Pushing down any thoughts that had come to her mind that she didn't mean to be there, she found herself shaking her head a second time and turning around, taking a deep breath. "Alright," she decided, spinning around to face the two expectant Akko. "You," she began, pointing to the first Akko who was beside the bookshelf. "Come with me."

"Huh?" The second began to complain.

"You stay here," Diana instructed her as the first Akko jumped up and excitedly followed Diana.

"Hey, no fair! How come you're doing her and not-"

"Wait here," Diana interrupted her forcefully, turning to the door and opening it. Silently thanking Jennifer that Akko obeyed her, she left the room with the first Akko by her side, making very sure that the door was closed.

"Alright!" Akko cried out. "What are we doing? How come she can't join in?"

"Doesn't matter," Diana huffed irritatedly. "She can join in later," she reasoned, realising this Akko wouldn't think too hard about it. She took a deep breath. "Now then, did you say you wanted to put on a Chariot style performance?"

"Oh, can we?" Akko's face lit up.

"Of course," Diana answered, sighing tiredly. If that's what it would take. It may be awkward - it definitely would be if the others saw what she was doing, but it could all be explained. "Come on then," Diana beckoned her. "We could set up a bit of a stage in the main hall-"

"Ooh, could we do it outside?" Akko asked. "All of Chariot's performances were in big outdoor stages!"

"Sure," Diana answered, quickly turning and diverting their route towards the nearest door that lead outside. "What did you have in mind?" She asked, silently hoping that Akko would do all the work this time.

"Oh, so much comes to mind! We can do a lights show, and I've been practising my metamorphosis magic, and - hey, do you have any spare brooms?"

"Yes, I have spare brooms," Diana answered vacantly, searching her brain for some kind of faster solution. Playing that Chariot card game Akko loved so much seemed like it would take too long for something that was unlikely to work. Same as going through comics with her. She could put on some kind of fancy light show for Akko, but she got the feeling that the brunette wouldn't be satisfied until she got to perform something herself.

This and the fact that the sun had almost set, low on the horizon, brought Diana no small amount of stress. Chilly winds hit her as her ominous shadow grew every longer - she could only be thankful that Akko was hopelessly unaware of this.

"We don't have any kind of stage out here..." Diana warned.

"Huh? Can't you make one?" Akko spun around, despondent.

"W-what?" Diana spluttered. "I could certainly cast an illusion of one, but not one that we could stand on..."

"Can you make an illusion audience?"

"I'm not sure I can have them all moving and cheering... I don't think I'm as good as illusions as you think," Diana grimaced, recalling her magical over-exertion previously that evening and beginning to worry again. In her current state, she wouldn't be able to animate something as lively as Akko would want for long. But, given how excited Akko already was, perhaps she wouldn't need long.

Every bit as embarrassed as exhausted, Diana cleared her throat, casting and maintaining a voice amplification spell on Akko similar to the one that Ursula would use when addressing large audiences. That as well as frustrated and stressed lead to a weird melding of emotions when she and the girl she fell in love with began to re-explore her childhood love for Chariot. One that she, even while talking to just Akko, rarely mentioned.

It was clear that she lacked the brunette's enthusiasm - be it due to Akko's constant energy or the plethora of thoughts plaguing her mind, Diana eventually allowed herself to relax, if even only slightly, and try to make something convincing for Akko. It was a strange experience, acting as though they were putting on a show for an audience (while desperately hoping everyone else was busy inside, giving them a distinct lack of audience) when she was only doing it for Akko's benefit.

The painful tug of magical exertion in her core was beginning to kick up again with a large stage illusion, a number of lights and voice amplification spell on Akko constantly draining Diana's energy, as well as a variety of metamorphosis and other ostentatious spells filling the air, mostly courtesy of Diana.

While she couldn't help but smile at the returning gush of excitement she remembered from when she went to Chariot's first show, she was growing increasingly worried as her spells threatened to give out. It was just as the pain was almost too intense to bear that the merciful green aura began to envelop Akko.

Diana sighed in relief then yelped at the sudden stab of pain as she quickly let all the spells disappear at once. She fell onto her back and watched with one eye open as Akko expended every last drop of her magic transforming to a barrage of different animals, only speeding up the process of her disappearing. She didn't even notice Diana struggling in the sudden darkness as the mist enveloped her in seconds and she was gone.

"Right then," Diana swallowed, slowly standing up and remembering the other Akko she ran into in her room. "I guess she's next."

  
As if Akko hadn't been annoying enough yet this evening.

With each second that passed, Hannah both wanted to go back to Amanda more and wanted to hide from her more, and Akko's little declaration earlier on most certainly did not help. There was something terrifying and yet liberating in the way Amanda teased her like she was trying to draw something out of Hannah not just annoy her. There was even a moment where Hannah had began to fall for it before Akko burst in.

It had barely been a minute since Akko had left her alone when she heard more voices down the corridor to her right and she instinctively moved against the wall and stood still to gauge who it was before they saw her, jumpy as she was at the moment.

Her face lit up when she heard Barbara's voice, but then sank when she realised there were two others with her. Even so, there was no use in sulking around all the time, so she took a breath and turned the corner to see who she was with.

"Oh, Han! I'm so relieved to see you!" Barbara cried, quickly meeting her eyes.

"Wait, what?" Hannah frowned. "Is something the matter?"

"That's certainly one way to put it," Barbara mumbled. Hannah looked over her shoulder to see, surprisingly, Lotte and Sucy in tow.

"What is it?" Hannah quickly asked.

"So, I made a mistake," Barbara sighed. "Akko wanted to cast a complex ritual with me and Diana-"

"Oh for heaven's sake," Hannah brought her palm to her forehead.

"No, well, Diana decided it was okay and they needed a third person, so," Barbara shrugged. "Now there are ten Akkos."

Hannah blinked.

"Pardon?"

"Akko was separated into various parts of her personality. To my knowledge, we've dealt with three of them. Diana's gone to check her room to see if any are there."

"Wait, so," Hannah frowned. "Jasminka said Akko changed suddenly from terribly upset to a very jolly mood... And the one with the crown..."

"Probably three different Akkos," Barbara nodded.

"You've met the crown one too?" Sucy asked. "Probably the most realistic of the bunch."

"Right... While I was with Amanda and the others, we ran into an Akko who seemed weirdly obsessed with being in a large group of people," Hannah mused. "I suppose that must be her extroverted tendency?"

"That sounds about right," Barbara nodded. "And the one Jasminka mentioned must have been some kind of negative Akko. Which is actually kind of hard to imagine," she added.

"So you, me, Diana, Akko, Lotte, Sucy..." Hannah quietly counted. "That means Amanda, Jasminka and Constanze all don't know?" She wondered, quietly cursing that she'd left Amanda behind alone and the redhead now didn't know what was happening.

"That's right, Diana asked us to look for other people or other Akko," Barbara responded. "Do you know where anyone is?"

"I just..." Hannah hesitated. "Yeah, Amanda was in a room that way a short while ago," she answered, pointing in the direction she came from. "The room with the piano."

Barbara frowned, instantly recognising that something was odd about her friend's speech.

"Alright, lead on," Barbara instructed Hannah, who simply nodded and turned around. It wasn't long before they arrived, and Hannah wasn't surprised if she was disappointed or relieved to find that the room was empty.

"Damn," Barbara muttered when she stepped in, but just being in the room again was starting some kind of weird reaction in Hannah again and she had to turn around and stare down the corridor to avoid a blush coming to her cheeks. Why did she have to spend the whole break babysitting two annoying witches? "Any other ideas?" She asked, turning back to Hannah.

"It's Akko," Sucy interrupted. "We could just stop and listen."

There was a short pause where Barbara, Hannah and Lotte all turned to the quiet witch who just shrugged. Lotte nodded guiltily. The group of four quickly fell into a deep silence. The birdsong of the day had stopped, but the light wind hadn't. The noises of the night animals hadn't begun yet, and they hung in a strange limbo with the dusk growing darker each minute. Despite the fact that Hannah felt like plucking Akko's eyes out at the moment, she quietly waited.

"What do you mean by deal with them?" Hannah quietly asked.

"Appeal to their personality," Barbara answered. "There was an obsessive one who wanted Sucy's potion, and all we had to do was give her the potion."

"Yeah, and an excitable one, we just had to act all excited with her," Lotte added. "You get the point."

"Oh good," Hannah muttered dryly." And are you sure that if we just wait here she's going to appear?"

As if on cue, there came a sound from outside their room. Sucy raised a smug eyebrow as Hannah scowled, turning her head to face the direction of the sound and opening the door.

"Guys? Anyone here? I couldn't find anyone in the living area!"

"That's definitely Akko," Lotte said.

"You reckon this is the extroverted one?" Barbara asked, stepping through the door and immediately meeting Akko's eyes around the corner.

"There you are!" Came her excited voice, followed by heavy footsteps.

"Sounds like her," Hannah muttered.

"Oh yikes," Barbara huffed as Akko cannonballed straight into her like a loyal pet.

"Oh hello again Hannah! Yo, Lotte, Barbara! I haven't seen you two in ages!"

"This one is even worse," Sucy monotoned while Lotte gave a nervous wave.

"So how do you deal with this one?" Hannah asked. Barbara pursed her lips.

"I don't know, she wants to be in a big group of people," Barbara mused. "Either we just let her stick with us, since there are four of us, or we'll have to find some more people."

"Namely Amanda and her group," Hannah answered.

All four girls turned and looked expectantly at Akko, who had moved to positions herself exactly in the middle of all of them. Ten seconds passed. Then twenty. Then a minute. Hannah groaned.

"I guess we'll have to find the other then."

  
The aforementioned others - namely Amanda, Jasminka and Constanze - were halfway across the manor, skirting slowly around corridors and investigating the rooms they ran into when they encountered an Akko of their own. This one, however, introduced herself in the form of a pair of feet poking around the corner, lying limp on the floor.

Upon noticing it, all three witches paused. Amanda stepped forward first.

"Hey, you good?" She asked. No response. "Akko, is that you?" She continued forwards until more of the girl came into view - in the middle of a corridor junction, she lay motionless on her front with her arms by her side and her legs straight behind her. With her head facing the side and her ear pressed against the ground and he palms facing limply upwards, she was the picture of lethargy. "Akko?" Amanda asked again, this time with less concern and more confusion as the brunette's eyes were open and lazily glazed over.

By this time, Constanze and Jasminka had caught up with Amanda and had taken on similar expressions to Amanda's.

"Akko?" Amanda asked again, and this time received some vague unintelligible grumble as a response. Constanze offered an understanding nod. "Oh geez, the heck is with this girl today?" Amanda muttered. "Come on, let's lie her down on a sofa or something."

"Good idea," Jasminka nodded, moving up to Akko's head to pick her up by the torso while Amanda lifted her legs.

"Geez, it looks like we're carrying her corpse," Amanda mumbled. "Let's hope Diana doesn't find us."

"What's she gonna do?" Jasminka asked. "We didn't kill her."

"Look, there are some sofas in here," Amanda gestured towards the library beside them, where the open door lead to a wide seating area.

"Alright. I'll go and see if we can bring her back to life with some food after we put her down," Jasminka spoke with Constanze close behind them.

"Yeah, I'll slap her face or something," Amanda half-heartedly responded as she dropped Akko's legs on the sofa.

Only, as Jasminka placed her body down and turned to leave, the three witches spun around as the brunette was encased in a strange green glow.

"Hey, Akko?" Asked again, perplexed as magical particles floated through the air. "Was it something you ate?"

"Akko?" Jasminka frowned, stepping closer to the girl - but, in front of their eyes, Akko disappeared and the green mist disappeared in a matter of seconds. All three witches were left staring, horrified and perplexed, at the vacant sofa in front of them.

"Shit," Amanda whispered. "Don't tell anyone."

  
Diana's door opened, and out from behind it stumbled the blonde in question. Flustered, out of breath and blushing brightly, her clothes were a complete mess.

"Well, that's one more down."


	5. Chapter 5

"Amanda?"

"Jasminka?"

"Constanze?"

The group of five girls - Akko, Lotte, Sucy, Hannah and Barbara were indignantly pacing between various parts of Cavendish manor where they thought they could find the other group, calling out t heir names. The living space was still empty, the dorms were all empty, the room with the piano was empty, they weren't in the main hall and looks through various windows showed that they weren't on the main grounds. While Akko seemed more excited to find the others than anyone else around her, she didn't seem to grasp the situation.

It was only once they had double-backed to the library at Lotte's suggestion when they got a response.

"Hey, anyone in there?" Barbara called out when they heard shuffling, followed by panicked muffled voices from inside the library.

"Uh, hey, yeah, we're-" Amanda began, sticking her head out from around the corner of the door, but paused abruptly when she saw Akko. "Akko?"

"Amanda!" Akko responded, pushing past Hannah and Barbara to embrace the other girl. "Long time no see, ay? Jasna! Cons!" Her voice could be heard and she disappeared further inside, Amanda close behind her.

"Hey, Akko, what's going on?" Amanda questioned, dumbfounded as the rest the group entered the library.

"You're not getting anything useful out of her," Sucy answered.

"I-is something wrong with Akko?" Amanda asked nervously, sweat forming on her brow.

She and her dorm mates looked thoroughly relieved once the situation was explained to her.

"That explains a lot," Amanda sighed, wiping her brow with her forearm. "In that case, I guess we can tell you that we made Akko disappear just before you got here."

"Hm? Which one?" Barbara asked.

"She was just lying around on the ground," Jasminka answered. "All we did was put her on a sofa, and poof!"

"You three got it easy," Hannah mumbled, looking up tiredly and meeting Amanda's eye, and quickly looking away.

At this point, Akko was practically overwhelmed with excitement.

"Hey, we're only missing Diana now, right?" She grinned. "Oh man, I love you guys~" she sighed.

"We definitely ran into this one earlier," Amanda huffed, staring daggers at her.

"So that's what was going on with Akko earlier," Jasminka mused. "We ran into a very upset Akko earlier this evening, but she might have moved by now."

"Do you remember where?" Barbara asked. Jasminka paused, eyeing the ground in thought. As she did, a flash of green in the corner of her vision drew her attention - everyone turned to see that their extrovert Akko was beginning to fade away.

"That's a relief," Lotte spoke. "I was beginning to worry she'd never be satisfied."

"Jasminka, sad Akko," Barbara hurriedly prompted her before Akko disappeared.

"She was certainly on the bottom floor, not far from-" Jasminka began, but was cut off by a painful clattering sound from outside. Barbara, Lotte and Sucy groaned.

"Scratch that," Barbara shook her head, stepping through the door and looking down the corridor. "We've found our next Akko."

"Huh? How can you tell?" Amanda asked, following the crowd, only to see a broken chandelier on the floor on the other end of the corridor.

"I saw her," Barbara responded, setting off at a jog in that direction. "It's the crown one."

"Ugh," Hannah scoffed, close behind her. "I ran into her too."

"Oh? If they're all pieces of Akko, what's this one about?" Amanda asked, quickly catching up to the front of the group before her eye was caught by the ruined furniture. "Though I can probably guess."

"The part that turns everything into a hassle," Barbara responded, pausing at the end of the corridor and scanning. As if waiting for them, Akko grinned at them from further down to their right before disappearing around the corner.

"Damn this athletic girl," Hannah huffed.

"Don't worry, I've got her," Amanda bragged, quickly shooting ahead of the group. "I dunno what it'll take to get rid of her but I can definitely stop her!"

Determined to make good on her claim, Amanda clenched her fist and took her running up to full force, skidding to a quick stop at corners and noting Akko running away in another direction. Though Amanda did get tired, it seemed like Akko did too and after what felt like an eternity of navigating the ridiculous complex of corridors and floors that was the Cavendish manor, Akko was clearly lagging behind. Realistically it hadn't been that long, as she still heard the commotion of the others trying to track her from behind her.

Amanda burst through a door and into an open grassed courtyard, the fine architecture surrounding her on all fronts. She paused for a moment to lean against the wall behind her and catch her breath - somehow, it seemed like Akko was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey! Where the hell are ya?" Amanda shouted, only to hear giggling from above her. In an instant she had spun around and jumped backwards, only to see Akko sat on a windowsill on a higher floor behind her. Amanda had no idea how she got here, but there was no way for her to get away without going through the courtyard.

"Wanna know a secret?" Akko asked her, ignoring her shouts.

"Huh?" Amanda thinned her eyes.

"Hannah has a huge crush on you," Akko whispered, placing her hand in front of her mouth and widening her eyes as though she had whispered a terrible secret before leaning back and bursting out laughing.

Amanda barely had time to register the others running through the door in front of her before they spotted her and followed her eyes up to the perch where Akko was sat, stepping back to look up at her constant laughter. Amanda grit her teeth. How dare she say that kind of thing then laugh - but then Amanda caught Hannah looking at her out of the corner of her eye and froze, turning to Hannah with a perplexed expression. It appeared like Hannah quickly froze too, but their interactions went mostly unnoticed as Lotte spoke up.

"This one has caused a lot of problems already... But she still hasn't disappeared," she mused.

"Unsurprising, the annoying part of Akko is more powerful than all the rest of her," Sucy monotoned. "And breaks the rules to get under our skin."

"What does a troublemaker want apart from fun?" Barbara mumbled. "She's trying to sow seeds of chaos and mayhem... Trying to cause actual misery? Trying to break people apart?"

"I don't know Barbara," Lotte nervously spoke up. "Akko's a lot of things and definitely sometimes annoying, but she's certainly not sadistic."

"This isn't Akko," Barbara responded. "It's just the part of her that makes up her knack for pulling pranks and whatnot. It doesn't display the constraint that the rest of her brings about in her."

"Perhaps we should leave her here with Amanda and leave," Hannah dryly suggested. "She's also got a knack for creating messes."

"Can it, England," Amanda instantly shot back. "Now of all times to get under my skin," she muttered.

"Oh, me getting under your skin?" Hannah shot under her breath.

"Couldn't hear you, England," Amanda shot an aggressive look over her shoulder.

"Focus," Barbara interrupted as Hannah huffed, turning away. Staring at Akko's smug face and Amanda at once were quickly bringing back a plethora of bad emotions from earlier in the day.

"Does it count if I drag her down here and kick her ass?" Amanda growled. "That would cause misery for someone." Lotte took a nervous step back.

"O'Neill, that is not the solution to everything," Barbara answered, quickly bringing a dark scowl onto the American's face. "And I doubt that would communicate what she wants to see."

"Oh, why don't you get England over here to communicate with her then?" Amanda clenched her fists. "Since she's been so useful in communicating so far."

"Oh, coming from you?" Hannah exploded, jabbing a finger in Amanda's direction. "Who can't even talk to me about what happened earlier?"

"That!?" Amanda raised her voice, spinning around on her feet and staring daggers at Hannah, prompting the others to step back as Lotte had. "You mean that conversation you ran away from while I was taking every step to get you to speak up?"

"Every step to get me to speak up?!" Hannah parroted. "You were flirting and that's all you were doing!"

"And you said it was just fine!" Amanda shouted.

"Girls-" Barbara tried to interrupt but was ignored.

"Aren't you supposed to be good at that kind of thing?" Hannah spat. "What with the amount you go running around with other girls, and you just let me-"

"Hannah!" Barbara cut her off.

"Who the hell said I see you like other girls?" Amanda shouted.

"Amanda!" Barbara shouted, stamping her foot. "Both of you, get a hold of yourselves!" She huffed. Both girls spun to stare venom straight at her, before realising that the scene was strangely quiet. "Just stop it. Akko disappeared ages ago," she explained, taking a deep breath.

Amanda and Hannah both slowly turned to the spot on the windowsill where Akko had been sat, only to see the last disappearing wisps of green mist. When they realised that everyone was staring at them, they stopped to clear their heads, only to realise that both were blushing.

Hannah promptly cleared her throat, turning on her heels and crossing her arms, only for Amanda to uncharacteristically turn away as well.

"God, you two need to talk," Barbara sighed.

Diana was stood in front of her mirror, making absolutely sure that she looked okay. With her clothes straightened out and her hair cleaned up, she had to take a moment to force the blush from her cheeks. As if getting spotted by her friends while she was with the Chariot Akko wouldn't have been bad enough, it would be a disaster if somebody caught on to this.

Either way, there was still a problem to be fixed. She'd dealt with excitable Akko, obsessive Akko, angry Akko and now these two, leaving five left if the others hadn't dealt with any themselves. She had asked the group she was with to search the manor for the others, so she was confident that they had assembled by now. At the point, the best thing to do was just to keep searching. It was an evening that was quickly making her exhausted.

"Akko?" She decided to call, tentatively stepping out into the dormitory corridor and deciding to take the staircase down. "Is anyone here?" She asked once she reached the bottom, but she froze with dread as the destruction caught her eyes. A chandelier had fallen some ways down the corridor, as well as a number of decorations laying abandoned on the floor.

Diana clenched her fists, a scowl coming to her face. This must have been the troublemaker.

"Akko?" She asked again, shaking her head and stepping forwards. There would be time to repair the manor later on.

Diana almost walked past her.

She barely noticed the girl who was crouched on the floor with her legs tucked close into her chest and her arms wrapped around them, hidden against the wall on the inside of the drawing room to Diana's left, by the door. She blinked, stepping back to do a double-take and realising she had found another Akko - one that appeared to be in great distress.

"Hey, Akko?" she asked more softly, stepping slowly into the room. There came almost no reaction but Akko's pose tightening, her head drawing closer to her knees.

Diana sighed as she closed the door behind her, electing to tiredly sit down beside Akko. This room was similar to the living space upstairs, though more formal - a large gathering table made the centre of the room instead of the numerous sofas, though there were a number of small windows opposite them with bookshelves between them. The night had fully come on now, and with no servants filling the corridors to light all of the rooms, it took her eyes a moment to adjust. The silence was uncanny aside from the occasional sob from her side.

"Come here, Akko," Diana spoke gently, shuffling closer to the girl's right until there was no space between them, lifting her left arm and wrapping it over Akko's shoulders, pulling them closer together. There was just the briefest moment of hesitation before Akko obliged, breaking from her tucked pose to wrap her arms around Diana's torso and bury her face in the blonde's shoulder. "Hey, Akko, it's alright," Diana hazarded, her hand moving to sift comfortingly through Akko's hair. "What's the matter?"

Akko shook her head, making some kind of muffled whining sound, her grip tightening around Diana's torso and bringing with it the comforting buzz of affection - but at the same time, she could already feel her shoulder growing damp, Akko's tears hot. She caught a glimpse of Akko's face, contorted and ugly, but at the same time beautiful.

"Akko," Diana breathed out slowly, bringing her right arm up and placing her hand on the back of Akko's head next to her other hand, bringing her into a strange intimate embrace. "Talk to me."

Akko slowly nodded, then gulped. She didn't let go.

"Diana... Why am I even here?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" The blonde warily asked. "In my house?" Akko nodded.

"Remember when I first came to Luna Nova," Akko began slowly. "Everyone hated me, even you. Hannah and Barbara told me I wasn't worth half a witch."

"They were crude and brash."

"They were right."

"Akko-"

"They were. They were the first witches I met when I came to the leyline, and I had no idea how to even get to the school until Lotte brought me with her, and even then I messed it up for her and Sucy. I break everything I touch." Diana hesitated.

"Nobody had told you-"

"Nobody had told me?" Akko parroted. "Everyone else figured it out!"

Diana paused. It was clear what this Akko was. Considering that this was the Akko that Diana had put the most effort into removing since falling in love with her, witnessing its unabated presence hurt. All she saw was Akko in pain.

"You've improved, Akko," Diana soothed her.

"Yeah, and how much?" Akko mumbled. "I still can't ride a broom, or cast intermediate spells. I have more extra-curricular spellcasting lessons than anyone else in the school and I'm still the worst student in every way."

Diana blinked, her eyes falling to the floor. She found herself pulling the other girl close to herself while she tried to think of a response.

"Do you know what it feels like to be the worst, Diana?" Akko asked. Diana didn't respond. Akko gave a grunt of affirmation before nuzzling her head into Diana's side, both of her arms grasping out in front of her to hold on to Diana's right arm. "If I'm not good enough for Luna Nova then I'm certainly not good enough for its best witch."

"You're good enough for its best witch," Diana quickly answered.

"I'm not."

"You are, I promise," Diana said. Akko paused.

"What does _that_ mean?"

"I love you more than anything else in the world," Diana assured her. There came a long silence. At least Akko's trembling had stopped.

"But..." She asked, her voice barely audible. "Why?"

"Compassion. Peerless determination. Selflessness," Diana answered easily." Your energy is adorable and your creativity is inspiring. You'll take on any challenge and, for the record, things usually go well when you butt your head in." Akko slowly looked up to meet Diana's eyes. "Oh Akko, if you put aside your uncultivated studying aptitude, you're the best person in Luna Nova in every way."

As they held eye contact, Akko's began to shimmer and glow with tears - and the green glow Diana knew only too well began to form around them.

"Do you promise?" Akko asked. Diana leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

"I promise," Diana answered, and the warm body she cradled in her arms began to fade from existence before her eyes - and soon she was left alone in the room.

Diana breathed out slowly, leaning her head back against the wall. She knew that if she closed her eyes, she could easily fall asleep so she allowed herself only a moment to gather her thoughts before leaning forwards and shakily standing up. Six down, four to go - but she knew she didn't have it in her to do four more on her own without resting first. She had to find the others.

It only took a few minutes before she heard their voices - and the footsteps of a large group of people. She sighed in relief, quickly diverting to find them, before spotting them all grouped together in the main hall. It looked like everyone was there.

Constanze was the first to notice her coming, but soon all the other girls followed her eyes and saw Diana arriving from a side door.

"Diana, there you are," a grumpy looking Hannah commented. "Any luck?"

"Six down," Diana answered. "If I'm correct, there would be four Akkos left."

"We dealt with three of them," Barbara answered, noticing Diana positively deflate with relief. "Lazy, extroverted and the troublemaker one."

"That's good," Diana nodded. "But I couldn't help but notice some damage to the corridors on my way here."

"That would be Akko," Hannah answered.

"That excuse won't always work, but alright," Diana said. "So that means there's one left, right?"

"Sounds right to me," Barbara sighed. "But we've been looking around for a while and haven't found anyone."

"Alright," Diana nodded. "See if you can fix the worst of the mess. I'll fetch my broom and search the grounds."

"Will you be okay?" Lotte asked. "You look exhausted."

"One more," Diana shot. "I can manage."

Turning back to the amassed group of her friends, Diana set off towards the main door and stepped into the night.


	6. Chapter 6

Diana didn't often fly her broom recreationally over her grounds. She had, of course, been trained from a young age on how to fly properly across the fields in an orderly manner until she was at the level of an adult witch when she went to Luna Nova - but it had never been her passion, and before Akko turned it into something fun for her, it seemed like another chore. Something else she was expected to be good at, rather.

She was beginning to wish that she'd put on another layer as she clutched the broom firmly in her hands, flying high above the manor. There was no hint of rain now though the air was humid, but the wind hadn't let down all night - if anything it had picked up significantly since she had come outside, now trying to batter her from side to side as its movement stole the last bits of heat from her body.

It had been a short while since she had dealt with the Chariot loving part of Akko, so the pain was only dull as she fought to keep herself in the air, simultaneously casting a spell to help her survey the grounds for the one last Akko. She hoped that the girl was still inside the manor - that the others would quickly find her and deal with her, then come and fetch Diana and tell her that Akko was fine again. And Diana would quickly grab Akko, go to bed and settle down comfortably in Akko's arms and go to sleep.

When the slightest movement caught her eye from the corner of her vision, Diana didn't want to look. When she did, she wished she hadn't - without a shred of doubt, one Atsuko Kagari was pacing across the edges of a field a long way behind the house. A mix of relief and dread washed over Diana - that and the gush of wind caused her to tremble briefly. This should be the last one.

As Diana closed her eyes and let herself fall slowly towards Akko, her clothes flapping against her skin, her mind was sifting through a number of unwelcome thoughts. Had she not found Akko now - or any and all of the others, for that matter - then what would have happened? What if these Akkos had decided to leave the manor and spread across the country, beyond any possibility of Diana tracking them down? Would they starve or run out of magic and disappear? Would Akko wake up with a part of her gone forever? Or would she just...

Diana shook her head, cold fingers gripping her broom handle hard as she came in for a slow landing beside the brunette and instantly gaining her attention. Akko spun around, watching her carefully for a tense few seconds with a dark expression. She waited, her nerves twitching in anticipation but her eyes heavy from exhaustion, staring into Akko's thinned, scornful eyes until she was broken from her trance by a splash of cold on her forehead - occasional raindrops had begun to fall around them.

"Akko?" Diana asked - only to be met with silence as Akko turned away from her, and back to her manor. The blonde's eyes fell to the pristine grass of her grounds below her feet as her shoulders fell in dread. It didn't seem like this Akko would be easy to deal with.

"Akko-"

"It's a really nice view from here," Akko cut her off. Diana blinked.

She looked up, following the other's eyes up to the main body of the building ahead of them. Stood behind the building, there was mostly pastures around them with a small dot of greenery towards their left before the moat surrounding the property. Akko was right - it was a very good spot to survey the scene. Though the sun had gone and the night darkened the view such that the light from inside barely illuminated its outside walls, it brought out the shapes of the area, which somehow managed to look all the more impressive.

"Fields too," Akko added. "And the gatehouse and stables and whatnot."

Diana nodded slowly, a black knot tugging at her core which was slowly beginning to shake her mind into a nervous mess. This clearly wasn't just the appreciative part of Akko - her tone suggested that, contrary to her choice of words, there wasn't a hint of positive emotion in her mind. She'd already dealt with the girl's temper, who would take any opportunity to be angry, so Diana had to think about what could remain.

"And whatever underground complex, underwater ritual place you've got going on," Akko continued. "It's all just absurd," she shot, the first hint of vitriol crawling into her voice.

"Absurd?" Diana asked, clearing her throat.

"That's what I said," Akko commanded her attention just before she was going to continue. "Who needs all of this space?"

This was a familiar conversation. Only she didn't expect it to be coming from Akko of all people.

"I... don't need all of this," Diana admitted. "It's all passed down from earlier times."

"And yet it's passed down to you specifically. Where I grew up in a tiny house that you could fit a thousand of onto just this field."

Now it made sense. Diana had things that Akko didn't.

"Akko-"

"And while we're at it, sure you work hard at school but how can you just be..." she paused, her face scrunched up and her hands waving in front of her as she searched for the right phrase. "Born with magic flowing through your veins? Brought into the world preordained to be powerful and successful and attractive and tall and everything else!?"

"Akko, I was born a Cavendish but that-"

"Why do you get a giant manor and natural skill when I don't? Why do I get bullied when the teachers suck up to you?"

"Akko-"

"Why do I get this pathetic body that can't do magic?" Akko shouted, stamping her foot on the ground and bringing up an unsightly splatter of mud. "I despise it! I despise your luck!" She declared, challenging Diana through a look in her eye. "And I despise Hannah and Barbara too! And Chariot for being so happy when she was at school! I know I don't go to the library enough but that doesn't mean she gets to be the Moonlit witch who everyone loves who can fly brooms and be famous!"

"Akko," Diana said sadly. She'd have to disarm Akko somehow but nothing was coming to mind. Of course, from the envious mind of Akko, it was all unfair and she drew the short straw and from that perspective that was all there was to it.

"But you," Akko cut her off with such venom in her voice that Diana froze, her core struck with a shard of ice when Akko looked over her shoulder to Diana, as though she wasn't worth turning her body for. "You're the worst of it all. Since the day I got to Luna Nova my whole experience was based around having nothing that you had. Every time I did anything, you were there to tell me I was wrong and to do better than me. Every time I did something fun you were there to slow me down and every time I got in trouble, you were there, free of all blame, to put me in detention."

Each accusation struck Diana like a sharpened blade - tears stung at her eyes and fear cannonballed through her mind. This wasn't what Akko really thought. She knew that was true. Right?

As Akko closed her mouth and crossed her arms in a defiant manner, turning back to the manor ahead of her, Diana shook. It was hard to believe that that wasn't how Akko really thought when she was hearing it from Akko herself. Akko would be the first person in the world to recognise that Diana's past wasn't easy, after all, but clearly being reminded of that wasn't what the girl Diana stood behind now needed.

"Akko," Diana tried again.

"And why should you get to talk down to me?" Akko responded darkly, not even turning her head.

"I'm not talking down to you," Diana pleaded. "I'm just speaking to you. If you can speak to me then I can speak to you. That's fair, right?"

The rain had picked up until there was an audible drizzle. Diana had been long since soaked. Akko didn't respond. At least she didn't deny what Diana had said.

"You're right," the blonde said quietly. In many ways, she was. Having earned Akko's attention, who again turned to look back at Diana over her shoulder, Diana cautiously crept closer to her. "It's not fair." Akko hummed her response, studying Diana. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Akko muttered. Diana feebly nodded, feeling like a child being scolded. "Prove it."

"How?"

"Get on your knees," envy demanded, "And say it again."

Diana's eye twitched - despite the indignity, she didn't hesitate to do so. Placing her hands neatly on her thighs, she hung her head low and quietly repeated herself.

"I'm sorry."

"Bow deeper! That's not a proper Japanese apology! Why do I have to conform to how you do it?"

Diana gritted her teeth, hurt far more by the disgust of the scolding voice than the embarrassment as she awkwardly leaned her hands on the dirt in front of her with her head facing the ground. She quickly noticed the mud on her hands and legs. Though it had been a day full of reconciling with Akko in every aspect of her mind, Diana was not in the mood for this. She did not need this.

"Now apologise again!"

"I'm sorry." Whatever it took. Diana waited, resisting the temptation to curl her fingers as raindrops hit the sensitive small of her back.

"Do you know how much I hate you?"

_Yes_ , Diana wanted to answer. _You don't._ But she didn't let herself. At this point, it might be easier to believe her.

"You shouldn't have everything I don't."

"No, I shouldn't," Diana parroted, feeling more like she was fighting someone than encouraging them. She felt deep disdain. She didn't want to help this part of Akko. She didn't want victory over it. She just wanted it to stop and go away.

But spotting an aura of green out of the corner of her vision definitely felt like a victory.

"And I shouldn't have to hurt you to hear you say that," came Akko's voice, now tense and hoarse with pain. Diana glanced up to see her eyes welling with tears. Now everything just hurt.

"Akko," Diana began, and this time wasn't interrupted. "These things happen. It's only fair that I make a sacrifice for you now. Right?"

"Yeah," Akko answered simply, turning away as the glow about her form slowly consumed her. "Right."

Then she was gone and Diana was left alone in the field, abased in the mud and mocked by the rainfall. There she waited for several minutes, her eyes adjusted to the dark and not a thought going through her tired mind.

"I'm getting Akko," Diana spoke to herself, slowly standing up. "And going straight to sleep."

Diana brought her broom close and whispered to it, asking it to return to the broom cupboard and she watched as it took off and did so. She brushed off her clothes and stretched her arms above her head, slowly setting off towards the manor. Entering its warmth through a backdoor was refreshing - she had forgotten how cold it was outside until the insulated heat washed over her. Now she just had to find the others and check on Akko.

And as it appeared, the others were all in the living area where Akko was. They glanced worriedly up at Diana when she pushed the door open to see the crowd inside the room who were previously talking quietly amongst themselves.

"Well?" Diana asked.

"Well what?" Barbara responded confusedly. "Did something happen?"

Diana's heart sank. That's when she noticed Akko - lying still exactly where she had left her. Anger didn't grasp her, but a torrent of other negativity from the day did - the sting despondency from her last encounter fresh in her mind, Diana silently turned around and pulled the door shut behind her.

"Diana wait!" Came voices from inside, but the heir was pacing away from the room. Ignoring the sound, she turned straight for the stairs, her destination unknown to her.

"Where are you going?" Hannah asked, pushing the door open with Barbara by her side. "What's the matter?"

"I found the tenth Akko," Diana huffed. "So it should be over."

"Maybe we didn't read the book properly?" Barbara hazarded. "Just come back, I'll go and fetch it and we-"

"No, we miscounted. There's another one," Diana insisted. "There's got to be."

"How can you be so sure?" Hannah asked desperately.

Because there was a part of Akko that Diana hadn't seen yet today. One that she sorely missed.

"I can just tell," Diana huffed, her movement undeterred. "Have the others continue searching," she instructed, turning down the corridor at the bottom of the staircase and leaving the other girls behind her.

Marching down the corridors of her manor, Diana scowled. There was only so much more she could take. She was tired and now furious, like the victory she allowed herself to be berated for just slipped from her grasp. Now the fears that had riddled her head earlier that evening could very well come to fruition.

"Akko," she silently pleaded, pushing open a random door and unthinkingly winding up in the courtyard again. Uncaring for the cold, she marched in and promptly collapsed on a bench. She'd had enough. "Please help me," she whispered.

Diana looked up again and, as if by fate, she realised there was a figure sat next to her. One that had either just got there or one that she'd previously missed. It didn't matter either way. When she realised it was Akko, it was like a drop of sunlight in a black void.

She stared, almost in shock, at those loving red eyes looking down at her, where she was resting her head in her arms on the table. There was a moment of silence.

"So which one are you?" Diana asked, not moving from her position.

"I dunno what you mean," Akko responded. "But are you alright? I haven't seen you in a state this bad in ages."

"Don't worry about that," Diana reflexively answered, trying to at least keep the frustration from her voice. "You're a part of Akko's personality and I need to deal with you."

But Akko just shook her head, shuffling towards Diana until their sides met.

"That's not how it works," Akko spoke. "It can't always be about someone else." Diana blinked, daring to sit up and meet Akko's eyes. She was very close. "You're in a ghastly state so, for now, it's about you. You have to take care of yourself."

Diana thinned her eyes in confusion, her brain just not catching up.

"What do you want out of this conversation?" She asked weakly.

"You don't get it," Akko said. "I love you but I can see you're in pain so all I want right now is to make you feel better."

Diana sighed, finally letting her mind's tight grip on the shards that were the stress of the day and the fear it had awoken in her go, only to feel tears biting at her eyes again as she felt herself growing weak.

Akko caught her when she leaned backwards, guiding her carefully to lean back against Akko's soft chest. She felt arms snake gently around her waist. The rain had come to a stop.

"See?" Akko asked, nuzzling the back of Diana's head against her neck. "It's okay. You have to just let go sometimes."

Diana nodded, suddenly sobbing. She brought her arms up to her chest in front of her and Akko reached up to hold them carefully inside her own. Akko was very warm.

"Do you want to talk about what got you in this state?" Akko eventually cooed. Diana shook her head. "Alright," Akko answered easily, moving one hand up to stroke Diana's hair.

"No, it's... Alright," Diana answered, feeling hot tears run down her cheeks - but they weren't unpleasant. They were warm and sweet. Somehow she was happy. The happiest she'd been in months. "Just tell me you don't hate me."

"I don't hate you," Akko indulged her. "I don't," she whispered in her ears. "I promise. You have no idea how much I love you."

Diana nodded, unabated tears dripping from her chin to her neck, yet she smiled tiredly. Her stressed heartbeat was slowing down despite Akko's arms around her, which always seemed to excite it.

"No one hates you," Akko continued. "Apart from maybe Chloé but who really cares?"

Diana let out a short laugh mixed with an unflattering shaky breath.

"That's more like it," Akko chuckled. "Everything's alright. I'm on your side. We all are."

"I love you, Akko," Diana whispered.

"I love you too."

There was a pause. As the last of Diana's frayed nerves started to calm themselves, Akko breathed slowly out and Diana felt her body falling with Akko's chest.

"Are you feeling better now?" Akko asked. "You told me you had to deal with me. It sounded urgent."

"It wasn't as urgent as I thought," Diana answered, then paused. "But I'm feeling much better. Thank you."

Predictably, the beginnings of a familiar spell were forming behind Diana. She recognised the green glow from behind her.

"You're welcome. I care about you, you know," Akko said.

"I can tell," Diana chuckled, bracing herself suddenly as her back support disappeared and she almost slipped backwards. She turned around, almost regretfully, to see that Akko was gone, a quickly dispersing green spraying of mist in her place.

That's when she saw something in a window to her right on the floor above. She quickly turned her head to see a silhouette against it, followed by loud voices - one of which was unmistakably Akko's.

Diana leaned her head back and sighed in relief.

When she got back to the living area, the scene was drastically different to how it was just a few long minutes ago. While, for whatever reason all 7 witches were still here, the room was in abject chaos. With fireworks going off in the room, tipped furniture and Hannah and Barbara grimacing in the corner, it all came to a stop when Diana walked in.

"Diana!" Lotte spoke up, eager to explain. "They had just set off to find Akko when she woke up - I called them back to the room and when they realised you'd done it, well Amanda was pretty excited-"

"It's alright," Diana sighed. "I don't think I'd be angry at you all for causing a mess right now if I tried to be." She turned back to the sofa to see Akko rubbing her forehead with her forearm.

"Ugh," Akko groaned.

"Are you alright, Akko?" Diana asked, kneeling down in front of her, fully aware of 7 pairs of eyes on them.

"Huh?" Akko asked. "Yeah, just... Oh..." She cut herself off. "So tired."

"That's alright. I am too."

"Did I fall asleep?" Akko asked. "I had the weirdest dream. I don't remember it all but first I was in the library with you and Lotte and Barbara, then arguing with Sucy... And something to do with Chariot, and then we banged, that bit was good, and then-"

"Alright! Alright, perhaps we don't talk about that now," Diana cut her off, a bright red blush coming to her face when the seven pairs of eyes on her turned shocked and some of them amused.

"Geez Diana," Barbara smirked. "I know the book said to appease them but I don't think it meant-"

"It's late!" Diana interrupted, clearing her throat. "It's time we all go to our rooms!" She shouted, trying to hide her face.

"Huh? It's barely midnight!" Amanda complained.

"I'm exhausted, and so is Akko," Diana insisted. "You can stay up as long as you want, but we're going to bed."

"Second time today, huh?" Sucy teased.

"Shut up," Diana shot, taking Akko by the hand. "Can you stand?"

"Yeah, but not easily," Akko answered, moving shakily to her feet. "What happened today?"

"I'll explain it later," Diana answered, leading her carefully out of the room. "We both need rest."

"Yeah, you're right about that."

"Oh, and Akko," Diana spoke quietly once they'd left the room and closed the door behind them.

"What's up?" Akko asked, receiving a quick kiss on her forehead.

"I'm glad you're okay."


End file.
